


From an Old Hand

by TheSovereigntyofReality



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, How to Deal With Brainwashing, Moderated, Not Canon Compliant - Sailor Moon, Not Steve Friendly, Sailor Moon References, Team Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-16 15:57:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18097499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSovereigntyofReality/pseuds/TheSovereigntyofReality
Summary: Steve's team are pardoned after the Civil War, but only in America.And someone wants to bring Steve up on how he handled the "brainwashed best friend" thing.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.**
> 
>  
> 
> I would like it noted that I grew up with the DiC version of Sailor Moon so I know them as Serena, Darien, Lita, ect. But I figured that would be a bit too weird coming from Japan, because those are _American_ names, not Japanese ones.
> 
> It did bump the timelines about a bit because I remember it being said that Usagi/Serena became Neo-Queen Serenity at the age of 22. In 2016, she'd be 35...I think.
> 
> It'll help if you're familiar with the Sailor Moon story to understand the reason I picked Darien/Mamoru to call Steve out on how he chose to handle the Bucky situation.

Sam wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react. After trying to leave the fight, they were stopped and confronted by a man and a woman – both Asian. After they’d been pardoned, Steve had said that was the end of it. They’d go home and Tony would apologise and everything would go back to normal. Only that didn’t happen.

Tony had completely ignored them. He’d shut the compound down, had it demolished, and sold it to the city council so it was in the process of being turned into a recreational park. They’d tried to complain to Tony but he was always busy “mentoring” that Spider-Man kid. Whoever thought it was a good idea for Tony to teach a kid how to be a superhero?

Then Fury had given them more bad news: they were only pardoned in the US. If they went to any of the other countries – Nigeria, Romania, Germany, even South America. They were barred from all of them. Sam couldn’t understand why. Even Steve stepping in to post videos, with Nat’s help, on social media explaining about Bucky’s situation did nothing.

 _Can’t you?_ A traitorous voice in the back of his head whispered.

These guys were Japanese, though, and they looked really pissed off.

And Steve seemed to really not understand why. ‘Look, I’m sorry people got hurt but if we hadn’t been here more people would have died.’

‘That’s just a lie.’ Ordinarily, Sam was sure, the Japanese woman would have quite a sweet and reassuring voice. Now, though, she was angry – and angry at them. ‘89% of these people were injured because of the damage _you_ caused. And you’re just going to walk away?’

Before Steve could defend himself the man shook his head. Despite his anger, there was something dignified and authoritative in his voice – far more than Sam had ever heard from Steve. ‘No wonder the rest of the world prefers Iron Man. At least when he makes a mess, he cleans it up.’

‘Even when _he_ doesn’t make the mess,’ the woman said.

Wanda scowled.

The man’s eyes suddenly focused on her. ‘Stop that.’

Wanda drew back. Red had began to swirl around her fingers, but it was quickly snuffed out.

The woman looked at her companion. ‘Trying to get into our heads?’

The man just nodded and then looked at Steve. There was something in his eyes that made Sam feel like he was judging the hero and finding him wanting. ‘You said, on a public platform, your friend got brainwashed. So why the hell are you allowing someone who can manipulate minds anywhere near him? Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that would make him?’

Sam froze as the question hit him. Steve looked shocked himself. But, when Sam thought about it, it made sense. Bucky had been brainwashed for years. The guy was still trying to regain his sense of identity. If he knew Wanda could manipulate minds, that logically should have made his post traumatic sense act up. So why didn’t it?

The traitorous voice piped up again. _Maybe Steve didn’t tell him?_

‘You don’t understand...’ Steve started to say.

‘You know, I think I do.’ The man shook his head. ‘And I’m more than fed up with your callous disregard of the collateral damage you cause. You spend all your time justifying your actions and not enough time thinking about the people you’re meant to be protecting. I mean, look at this!’ He waved an arm, gesturing to the area around them.

Sam did look.

There were people all around – civilians. Several were being tended to by others around them. Not a single one of them didn’t seem to be bleeding. Some people were even slumped limply as other people tried to revive them. And all of this was taking place amongst the debris that had resulted from their fight. Was this what it looked like every time? Was that what the whole world was so upset about? Why hadn’t he noticed before.

The woman shook her head. ‘I don’t think you’re interested at all in the people,’ she said, ‘because you always walk away from them like they don’t exist. You’re interested in the glory that comes with getting to call yourselves heroes.’

‘That’s not true!’ Steve insisted, looking around at the rest of them to get something from them.

What, Sam didn’t know. He could actually see how it looked that way to them. They did always walk away. And they never looked back. They never even thought of the civilians who ended up caught in the crossfire. And, yes, Sam had always gotten a high when he got to call himself a hero, and he’d gotten a high when he’d been called one.

Were they really just in it for the glory?

The man shook his head. ‘It is. And it’s also true that you care more about getting your friend back than you do about the suffering he went through. You keep insisting that he didn’t do the things HYDRA forced him to do under brainwashing. Do you know what you’re really saying? You’re saying that all those people who died, all of their families and friends, are unimportant; that they don’t matter. You’re invalidating their losses.’

His eyes narrowed.

‘And you’re invalidating Barnes’s right to acknowledge and process what happened to him. You’re denying him a true psychological and emotional recovery.’

The two of them turned on their heels and walked back over to the wounded.

***

The next morning, they were all sitting in a conference room with Fury and Hill.

‘There has to be something!’ Natasha insisted.

Fury smirked and shook his head. ‘Chiba, Mamoru. Mizuno, Ami. They’re both doctors from Japan, both at the top of their fields, and in New York for a medical conference. When you had your little fight, the doctors attending the conference were asked to come down and help with the casualties that _you_ caused. They just took the chance to get something off of their chests.’

‘But he knew I was using my powers!’ Wanda insisted.

‘I got news for you, Maximoff,’ Fury snapped. ‘That ain’t hard! Your hands glow red when you use your powers. You can see it.’

Sam winced. That was true. He didn’t think there was anything about them that stood out. He couldn’t understand why the others were trying to push the idea. Besides, Fury wasn’t saying anything new. Sam had gotten their names from Hill last night and looked them up. Mizuno specialised in post-traumatic stress caused by psychological abuse and had actually been consulted on Bucky’s case. Chiba specialised in physical trauma, reconstructing the body as much as possible after things like vehicular collisions and suchlike. And he was apparently quite successful, getting limbs that should never function again properly in working order.

‘They’re not enhanced,’ Hill said. ‘They’re just two very good doctors who were called down to help, and decided to give you a piece of their minds when they saw you walking away from the devastation you’d caused. There’s nothing special about them at all.’

Sam winced.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t deserved it.

***

Tony knew that Fury believed that there was nothing remarkable about Chiba and Mizuno.

He was fine with him thinking that, but Tony suspected there might be. See, right after the Civil War, when Rhodey had been paralysed, Tony had asked around, looking for someone to help his friend. Eventually, it was Helen Cho who said, ‘Why don’t you call Chiba Mamoru. He’s a doctor in the Jubaan district in Tokyo. If anyone can help Rhodey, it’ll be him.’

Her Cradle was undergoing upgrades, so she couldn’t pull it out for this.

So, Tony contacted the guy. He was calm, friendly, and said he’d see what he could do. He came in and went to do some reconstructive surgery on Rhodey’s spine. 48 hours later, feeling had returned to his best friend’s legs. All he needed was help getting them under him again. Tony immediately had Dr. Chiba put on his list of doctors.

But, shortly after, Tony had been approached by Sailor Venus and Sailor Mercury of Japan’s superhero team: Pretty Guardians Sailor Soldiers.

Nifty name, that. Tony would like to know who came up with it.

They wanted to know why he was calling the various superheroes around the world for help. And they listened. They not only listened, but they had prior experience with invaders from other planets. The Sailor Soldiers – all nine of them – were quite indispensible for helping prepare for the inevitable attack.

It’d taken him quite a while to even come to the conclusion. For all he knew, it could have been a coincidence. And it could have been a coincidence that Dr. Chiba refused to work nights or over festivals. His wife, after all, seemed to be the centre of his world, and he’d made it very clear early on that she liked him home at night and liked him to take her to the various festivals through the year.

Tony was sure there was a story there, but it was none of his business.

At the same time, Tony had, upon meeting the Sailor Soldiers, began paying more attention to them. Their name suggested that they were in service to some authority. But there seemed to be no authority they answered to – visible. Sure, they didn’t sign the Accords but, then again, they didn’t operate internationally.

At the same time, they seemed to operate like a well-oiled machine. The worst of their collateral damage often happened before they arrived. Which was even more impressive given that their fights usually had at least one unconscious civilian around somewhere. So they obviously knew what they were doing, and they obviously answered to someone.

Which was more than you could say for the Avengers.

Now, Tony couldn’t prove anything. All he had was some circumstantial evidence but he strongly suspected that Dr. Chiba’s ability to heal just about any injury perfectly in a very short space of time was a bit more than some hush-hush surgical technique. After all, Rhodey’s spine now showed 0 of the damage that he’d initially sustained.

And Tony had the strangest sensation that Chiba knew far more than he let on.

And that was not even mentioning Dr. Mizuno. She seemed far more knowledgeable about brainwashing and the psychological after effects of it to have studied merely the theory. If it turned out she had some personal experience with a real case, Tony wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. She seemed to know exactly what to do with Barnes’s case. Not to mention her intelligence.

Now, Tony knew genius and this woman was a genius.

But she was a genius in so many fields it seemed...beyond human.

Chiba’s wife also gave him the feeling that there was something about her. He’d met her once, and she was an absolute gem of a lady. It was easy to see why her husband was smitten with her. She seemed to absolutely radiate positivity, despite her bouts of klutziness and overdramatic reactions, which he got the feeling she was doing on purpose – whether to amuse or annoy her husband, Tony didn’t know. Still...there was something almost...magical about her.

It was just a feeling.

Tony had no proof for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it wasn't shown on screen (because it's a kid's show and they don't want to show PTS), but you can't tell me (those who are familiar with the show) that Darien/Mamoru was all hunky dory after getting his memories back in the Anime. He was brainwashed by Beryl for God knows how long and made to attack not only one of his friends but also to consistently attack the love of his life with intent to kill.
> 
> For those of you only familiar with the anime (or who have not seen Sailor Moon Crystal, Darien/Mamoru does have various psychic powers as well as the ability to heal wounds. So, yeah. Fury's wrong; Tony's right.
> 
> I may write a second chapter which deals with Thanos.


	2. New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter alternates between summary and narration.
> 
> I hope it's not too jarring, but I thought I'd give it a try.

There was a slight kink in the plans.

The entire earth froze over practically overnight, putting the entire human race into stasis for 1000 years. And it wasn’t normal ice, either. They’d have all died if it was. The world was then thawed out just as fast at the end of that millennium. And then everything went to shit. People freaked out over having been frozen for 1000 years. And the world leaders were no help. They were freaking out too.

That was when Tony found out just who the Sailor Scouts answered to.

He found out because they stepped in to quell the global anarchy.

King Endymion and Queen Serenity.

Everyone was so relieved that someone knew what to do that they just let them have all the power. These guys appeared out of thin air and literally took over the world overnight, with little to no rebellion. Tony was so surprised that all he could think was, _So that’s how you pull off world domination._

By the time people slowed down enough to ask, they’d already firmly established their power. And their position as the King and Queen of the world. And the Sailor Soldiers were sworn to protect them above all else. So all people could do was complain. Not that there was much to complain about. The state of the world generally improved under their rule. Being united under a single Head of State had cut down wars considerably. Food was distributed evenly, and anyone caught tampering with the system (and they were somehow always caught) was punished. So poverty, while not completely erased, was considerably lower.

Tony was impressed.

Then Thor arrived. It turned out the threat had come while the Earth was frozen, but couldn’t get through the ice. Now that the world had thawed, it was coming back. Thor had then said, ‘I need to speak with the Midgardian Royal Family. I understand they have returned to power.’

‘What do you mean “returned”?’ Rogers demanded.

Tony was only in the room with him under sufferance, and he had the assurance of every other superhero he’d gathered for the fight that they wouldn’t let Rogers “and his cronies”, as Jones put it, anywhere near him – especially seeing as how they all knew what Rogers had done over the years.

Thor just nodded. ‘My father did mention them in passing once or twice, but he was always disgruntled when he did so. I only found out why after his death. These people had the power to defeat all of the mightiest warriors of Asgard again and again. I only hope they also have the power to defeat the Mad Titan.’

With that one statement alone, Thor killed the main argument against the Royal Family.

‘I’ll organise it,’ Tony said.

That was how Thor, along with only a few others found themselves in the Throne Room of the Crystal Palace. Thor, in an unprecedented display of humility, was on his hands and knees before the King and Queen, first begging forgiveness for the actions of his father 2000 years ago and then explaining Thanos.

It was while this was happening that Tony realised the truth.

When he finished, Sailor Jupiter turned her head. ‘So...what did his father do?’

‘Odin was a conqueror,’ King Endymion said. ‘Once he took the Norselands, he thought he’d taken the entire world – then he found out about my family. And he began a series of attacks on the capitol.’

Queen Serenity’s lips quirked slightly. ‘Yes. I remember you calling it more of an annoyance than anything else.’

‘All they had was brute strength.’ The King inclined his head. ‘And is this how you intend to fight Thanos? With brute strength alone.’

‘He must be stopped,’ Thor said.

‘Agreed.’ Endymion turned his head. ‘Sailor Mercury?’

The blue Sailor Soldier stepped forward and flicked a screen up. ‘Judging from what you’ve told us, everyone whose fought him has always taken a frontal assault. It would, therefore, be in our best interests to build an alternate plan of attack.’

Thor seemed confused. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘That’s okay,’ Queen Serenity said in the most pleasant way Tony had ever seen. It was the nicest way Tony had ever seen to say “go home, your services aren’t required”.

And they weren’t.

_MERCURY AQUA MIRAGE!_

_BURNING MANDELA!_

_JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!_

_VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!_

They wiped out the army first.

_SILENCE GLAIVE SURPRISE!_

_SPACE TURBULANCE!_

_DEEP SUBMERGE!_

_DEAD SCREAM!_

The army that Bruce proclaimed was too big was mowed over like it was nothing. The old Avengers were all standing there with their jaws hanging open. Tony and the others, who were more familiar with the type of fighting the Sailor Soldiers did, were just kicking back and enjoying the show. It got even more interesting when Thanos himself appeared.

Because that was also when the King and Queen stepped onto the battlefield.

His Infinity Gauntlet – which was meant to be the most powerful artefact in the galaxy – was cancelled out by a crystal, small enough to fit into the palm of the Queen’s hand.

Tony didn’t hear what was said, but some form of conversation took place between the Queen and Thanos. Despite the fact that she clearly had an equal partnership with her husband, it was clear who she was before.

Sailor Moon.

The only Sailor Scout that Tony couldn’t see.

Then the Queen held out the crystal she had and said, in a voice that echoed powerfully, _‘MOON COSMIC POWER!’_

A bright light exploded out of the crystal and, when it cleared, they were all gone. The Infinity Gauntlet laid on the ground, a smouldering heap. The Infinity Stones were in the process of shooting up into the atmosphere and beyond. Thor was the first one to find any sort of response for that.

‘They have only become mightier over these many years.’

***

Natasha had intended to infiltrate the Crystal Palace.

King Endymion had dissolved S.H.I.E.L.D., and declared them a terrorist organisation. At first they hadn’t taken it seriously, but it was soon apparent that, yes, they could do that. All of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources were seized and locked away where they couldn’t be accessed. They literally had no power anymore.

Natasha had been sent in to try and get some power back. But she’d been quickly detected. Sailor Jupiter held her to the ground in an extremely painful arm-lock. She hadn’t even gotten close to the King. And Jupiter was clearly not about to let her up or anywhere near the man, no matter what she said.

She ended up hauled down into the dungeon.

Natasha had no idea how long she was down here before Jupiter came down and got her again.

‘Don’t I get a phone call?’ Natasha asked as she was led out of the dungeon, her wrists and ankles too closely shackled for her to be able to do anything.

‘Don’t be stupid,’ Jupiter said. ‘Your citizenship is entirely Russian. It turns out you were on American soil illegally. Fury, and Carter before him, may have dismissed those laws when they were inconvenient, but the King is the law. You’re going back to Russia.’

Natasha’s gut dropped.

***

Clint was held down by Mars and Venus as Queen Serenity had held up the Crystal she’d used to defeat Thanos. He’d come rushing in to find out why Nat hadn’t come back – and he’d been instantly caught. The King watched as the Crystal glowed, only his raised eyebrow could be seen past that small white face-mask.

Then Clint had fallen back.

All his anger and hatred were gone.

The Queen stepped back. ‘As I thought, Mr. Barton. You were being externally influenced by Miss Maximoff.’

‘What...?’ Clint breathed.

The Queen gave him a genuinely kind smile. ‘Didn’t you think it odd that you were suddenly so protective over a woman who had attacked and tried to kill your teammates, your friend? A woman who had openly displayed no signs of genuine remorse. She put on a sad face and you bought into it. You abandoned your family for her without asking any questions.’

Clint froze.

Why had he been protective over Wanda? She had fucked with Nat’s head. With Steve and Thor’s. With Bruce’s, resulting in the Hulk on a rampage. Why the hell had Clint not put an arrow through her head? Why the hell had he thought of her as a child? Then it hit him. He knew exactly why.

Clint looked up at the Queen.

‘Go home, Mr. Barton,’ she said.

So he did.

Maybe this world royalty thing wasn’t so bad if they could and would heal you like that.

***

Venus strode through the palace and knocked before she entered Mercury’s lab.

‘Well, that’s the assassins down,’ she said. ‘What about Wilson?’

‘Apparently, he’s withdrawn,’ Mercury said. ‘I think he’s had enough of the superhero business.’

‘And Barnes?’

‘He’s making leaps and bounds with the treatment.’ She looked at the blonde. ‘It’s not like when Mamoru went through it though. He doesn’t have some equivalent of Usagi to hold him and tell him to lean on her let it out. The closest thing he’s got is Rogers, and he’s more focused on pretending it never happened rather than allowing Mr. Barnes to properly emotionally process what happened to him.’

Venus huffed. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so insensitive in my life.’

‘You probably have,’ Mercury remarked.

‘I meant humans.’ Venus rolled her shoulders. ‘What about these devices for Maximoff and Rogers. Are they ready?’

‘Just about.’ Mercury lifted the first of them. ‘I’m mass producing these, specifically for authority bodies in New York. It’ll help them a great deal the next time he decided to mow over regular people who are just doing their jobs.’

***

Wanda had been immobilised.

Her powers were then stripped by a device of Sailor Mercury’s design. Wanda screamed and raged, but it did no good. She was shipped back to Sokovia. It turned out that while these people were King and Queen of the whole world, the world’s governments would remain as subordinate governments to them. And, providing it didn’t violate the new laws, they could prosecute their own criminals.

Steve had protested loudly.

Fury sighed. ‘Rogers, I know it’s hard for you to understand reality, but the fact of the matter is that these fuckers are a legitimate world power. They’re in charge and they are an absolute monarchy. You know what that means? They say jump, you say “how high”. And Thor already established that they do have legitimate authority over the Earth. They never abdicated or were dethroned. They just faded into the background for a while.’

‘1000 years!’ Steve snapped.

‘Yeah, and then they were there to lead the planet when we needed it. Their power is real and you’re better off to just nod and smile and do whatever the fuck they tell you to do.’

Steve gritted his teeth. ‘I’ve never backed down to bullies.’

Fury’s remaining eye scrutinised him. ‘One of these days, I might have to get your definition of a bully.’ He didn’t give Steve a chance to respond. ‘Look, Rogers, this is one of the most prosperous and egalitarian governments this planet has ever seen. They’ve virtually eliminated poverty and war. The majority of the population is in favour of these guys. They’re here to stay, and there’s nothing we can do about it.’

Seeing that arguing with him was useless, Steve stormed out.

He tried to get to Crystal Tokyo in order storm the palace.

He was arrested for property damage and assault and battery when they wouldn’t let him on the plane without a ticket. They just hit him with a device of some kind. He didn’t know where they got it. Sailor Mercury’s technology was used on him and he was reverted back to the stick he once was.

Captain America was murdered that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My main peeve with the future of Sailor Moon is this:
> 
> How the hell did they get the whole world to submit to their authority when there hasn't been a Royal Family of the Entire Earth since the Silver Millennium?


End file.
